Class of '84
January 2001

Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday season. I’m the guest writer of our class letter this quarter and, as such, was asked to share a few thoughts about Gustavus.

I’m writing to you from my current home¾ Atlanta¾ reflecting on where we were 20 years ago. Could it be 20 years? It was freshmen year at Gustavus and we were experiencing our first J-Term. We hung around St. Peter the month of January (except for a lucky few that escaped to warmer climates). We took unique courses, like Underwater Basket Weaving at -30° F. We participated in special activities on campus, like caf tray sliding on Uhler Beach. We frequented (in)famous haunts in town, like The Flame, The Nic and Godfather’s. And the common thread among these things and what makes that period so memorable are the quality times with good friends, people who continue to be good friends today. That’s what fondly comes to mind most when I think of Gustavus.

Let’s move on to news from the Hill:

Campus News

The Gustavus campus is enjoying another busy and exciting January Term with 2300-plus students enrolled for credit! We are offering over 100 January Term courses, including 16 travel courses (plus 36 international courses through our UMAIE consortium). There are also 15 courses on the special Environmental Studies theme for J-Term 2001. Some of these courses include, Chemistry in the Environment, The Literature of Winter, Geographical Issues in the Third World, Global Environmental Change, Amazonia: An Eco-Historical Perspective, GIS in Environmental Analysis, The Changing Face of Agriculture, and Environmental Journalism. Next year (2002) the January Term theme will be "Global Village" and will feature both international and domestic diversity focused courses. After that J-Term themes are planned for "Service-Learning" (2003) and "Undergraduate Research" (2004).

You are invited and encouraged to attend these upcoming national chapter alumni events. Invitations are sent to alumni in chapters. For more information, please call the Alumni Office at 800-487-8437 or look on the web at gustavus.edu.

50th Anniversary Class and 50-Year Club reunions will take place on campus, May 25-26 for the Class of 1951 and the 50-Year Club. Registration material will be mailed in April.

A reminder that all other reunion classes (1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991 and 1996) will have their reunions at Homecoming onSeptember 21-22. Class gatherings will take place in the Twin Cities at the DoubleTree Hotel, Minneapolis Airport at the Mall, on Friday, September 21. Homecoming activities will take place on campus on Saturday, September 22.

Will you help Gustavus remain strongly church related? Encourage your ELCA congregation to join the Gustavus Adolphus College Association of Congregations. There is no cost. For more information, call the Office of Church Relations at 800-726-6194 or e-mail Craig Johnson at cjohnson@gustavus.edu.

And what, you are wondering, is up with our classmates?

Jody Erickson is an analyst with Conseco Finance, and his wife, Shelly, is a personal trainer. They live in Eden Prairie with daughters three-year-old, Haley Marie and five-month-old, Rachel. Congratulations on the recent family addition.

Judy (Rydland) and Robert Fleming had their second child, Jake, on March 15, 2000. Congratulations!

Robyn (Rime) Hansen is publications manager at George Eastman House, a museum of photography and film in the mansion of the founder of Eastman Kodak. Robyn and partner, Edgar Brown, live in Rochester, NY, and recently had a baby boy named, Griffin Lachlan Brown. Best wishes to all!

John Herbert still practices psychiatry in San Francisco. How much longer do you have to practice before the real thing, John? He is interested in hearing from classmates visiting the Bay Area (jlherbert@hotmail.com).

Loree (Miner) Hinderaker is a domestic engineer, and hubby, John, is a trial lawyer and partner with Faegre & Benson. They domesticate in Minneapolis.

Thanks to Brian Godfrey, we have an update on long-lost Thomas (Chico) Kappele. Tom is a senior vice president for sales and marketing with Gordon Flesch, Inc. in Chicago. He and his wife, Dianna, have two sons, Mike (12 years) and Chris (7 years) and live in Elgin, IL. Dianna is a homemaker and artist. Welcome back!

Chad Kelly is in high demand these days. He recently took on the position of managing director and head of marketing for U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, the investment-banking arm of the company. Chad and Shelly (Harrison) Kelly ’87 live in Plymouth.

John and Wendy (Binger) Morris hold residence in beautiful California. John is now vice president of Quick Eagle Networks in Sunnyvale, CA. Good luck with the new position.

Lydia (Flora) and husband Paul ’85 Radke live in Eden Prairie. Lydia is a homemaker and Paul was recently promoted to client relations manager for Bank of America.

Betty (Wannarka) and Dave Ringeisen reside in Sherburn, MN. Betty just received a master’s degree. Congrats!

Robert and Connie Sackett-Lund have been busy. They were married and had a baby boy, Jens, in the past two years. Best wishes to you two. They live in Waconia, MN.

Rebecca (Eggert) Thoen is teaching grade six full-time after more than 10 years away from the classroom. Her husband, Marc, teaches third grade in the same school, which is convenient for car-pooling. They live in Dawson, MN, and have two kids, Lauren Elizabeth (1½ years) and Christian Marc (3 years).